Friday, September 28, 2012

Build in a Collins glass, fill with crushed ice, and swizzle to mix and chill. Garnish with 3-4 dashes Fee's Whiskey Barrel Bitters and add a straw.

After Island Creek Oyster Bar, we headed next door for drinks at the Hawthorne. There, bartender Dan Lynch greeted us and I requested a Newmarket Swizzle. The Swizzle was created by Katie Emmerson featuring Bully Boy's white rum, and the drink was named by Matt Schrage after the neighborhood that the Bully Boy Distillery resides, namely Newmarket Square in Boston.

The Fee's Whiskey Barrel Bitters garnish in conjunction with the cinnamon syrup contributed a very spiced aroma to the drink. The sip was full of lime notes with a hint of cinnamon, and the swallow began with rum and pineapple flavors followed by most of the cinnamon notes from the syrup.

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Two Sundays ago, Andrea and I visited Island Creek Oyster Bar. For a drink, I asked bartender Paul for the Wit Haven. The Wit Haven utilized the bottling of the Genever barrel that Jackson Cannon selected at the Bols distillery. Apparently, this is the first single-barrel bottling that Bols has done with the Genever, and the wealth is spread between the three bars that Jackson Cannon supervises.

The twist's lemon oil greeted the senses and prepared the mouth for a sweet lemon sip that contained soft white port flavors; as the drink warmed up a bit, the Genever's malt began to play a role in the sip. Much of the Genever flavors filled the swallow though that finished with a lemon note.

Two Saturdays ago, I was flipping through the Café Royal Cocktail Book and spotted the fruity curiosity of a Dry Martini called the Old Hall. To the base of that classic was a hint of Pimm's No. 1 and Rose's lime cordial. Honestly, I cannot remember the last time I opened up my Rose's, but I was curious to give the aged bottle some use with this recipe; surprisingly, our decade old bottle of Rose's smelled as fresh as ever, so props to British naval ingenuity!

The lime cordial added to the gin's piney notes on the nose. The sweet-tart lime sip led into gin notes on the swallow that finished with the Pimm's fruit flavor. Overall, the Old Hall was an interesting cross of a Martini and a Gimlet.

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass rinsed with Caol Ila 12 Year Scotch. Twist a lemon peel over the top.

For my second drink at Rendezvous, I wanted what Scott Holliday had made for Andrea as her first round; indeed, a few sips were not enough. The drink was called the Gloamin Dwines which is Scottish for "declining twilight"; perhaps this implies that the violet hour is leaving and night is about to set in.

The Gloamin Dwines offered up lemon oil aroma along with the briny smoke note of the Caol Ila. The Cynar's caramel and the Scotch's malt on the sip were lightened by the Cocchi Americano's citrussy hints. The Scotch played well with the Cynar on swallow, and the Cynar transitioned elegantly into the celery notes on the finish.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Two Thursday ago, Andrea and I dined at Rendezvous in Cambridge. For a first drink, bartender Scott Holliday made me a recipe that he had come up with the night before with Drink's John Gertsen. They named this mezcal Red Hook variation after the Winter Hill neighborhood in Somerville where Scott, John, and we live called Magoun Square. The drink began with a mezcal nose that led into a grape sip. The smoky agave was counted by the Maraschino on the swallow.

Shake once without ice and once with ice. Double strain into a wineglass and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

The other drink I had at Lineage was the Fratelli Flip that bartender Brendan Pratt had created. Fratelli means "brothers" in Italian, and in the spirits world, it is often associated with amaro companies like Fernet, Campari, and Averna. The Flip began with a spiced nutmeg aroma that led into a thick, rich malt and caramel sip that had a hint of the lemon's brightness. Finally, the swallow offered up the Averna's herbal flavors followed by the Maraschino's nutty cherry.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Shake with ice and strain in a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

After visiting the Regal Beagle, I continued up Harvard Ave to Lineage where I stopped in to say hello to bartender Brendan Pratt. For a first drink, I asked Brendan for the Deadline which turned out to be a recipe from the previous bartender Ryan Lotz before he left for the Hawthorne. Since St. Germain and Benedictine paired so well in Jabriel Donohue's Pantorium, I was definitely keen on trying this combination again.

The Deadline offered up a lemon and floral aroma. The citrus aspect continued on into sip where the lime juice mingled with the fruitiness of the St. Germain. The swallow contrasted the high floral notes of the St. Germain with the low herbal ones from the Benedictine; finally, the Deadline presented a clean finish from perhaps the lime or the white whiskey at the end. The white whiskey felt a little lost in the shuffle here, but it was certainly not out of place.

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a flamed lemon twist.

Several weeks ago when we were at the Citizen Public House, we were sitting next to a gentlemen and we began chatting. Turned out that it was Adam Grushey who manages the beverage program at the Church around the corner as well as the Regal Beagle in Coolidge Corner, Brookline. He recommended that I check out a drink that the Regal Beagle bartender Andy Holub had come up with for a Bombay Sapphire East competition. Unfortunately, Andy's drink lost to the handiwork of Local 149's John Mayer, but the combination of gin and kümmel drink had me curious. When I stopped into the Beagle, Andy described how despite the drink being created for a Bombay Sapphire event, the recipe really shined with Ransom's Old Tom Gin. He also opted for Leopold's new Maraschino liqueur; when he gave me a taste of it and Luxardo's product, Leopold's was fruitier to Luxardo's nuttier and funkier liqueur.

The lemon twist provided bright notes to the kümmel's caraway aroma. The sip was a combination of grape and cherry flavors, and the swallow offered the spice and herbal notes of the gin and kümmel and ended with a delightful cherry finish. Indeed, the balance of fruit to spice was rather well done in the Cara-Me-Away.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Shake with ice and double strain into a cocktail coupe. Garnish with a lime twist.

For a nightcap at Sichuan Garden 2, Ran Duan made us a low proof herbal number using Cynar. The Cyanara was another drink created by Ran's friend Joe Hines, a bartender at William & Graham in Denver. With the basil and lime juice, the concept reminded me of a Cynar-for-Green Chartreuse version of Ben Sandrof's Silent Order. The lime twist's aroma prepared the mouth for the citrus sip. Of the muddled herbs, the basil was the strongest and it paired rather well with the Cynar on the swallow.

Muddle a sugar cube and 2 mint leaves in the Campari at the bottom of a small shaker tin or Julep cup. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir, and fill with crushed ice. Garnish with mint sprigs and add a straw.

For a follow up drink at Sichuan Garden 2, bartender Ran Duan suggested a Julep he called Pliny the Elder. I neglected to ask Ran whether his drink was a homage to the Roman philosopher or the prized California-brewed IPA of the same name. With vermouth, gin, amaro, and absinthe in the mix, the Pliny the Elder reminded me slightly of the Pontarlier Julep that appeared in Imbibe magazine.

The Pliny the Elder led off with a mint aroma that transitioned to a malty and grape sip from the Genever and Puny e Mes, respectively. The swallow was a bitter herbal burst of the Campari, Punt e Mes, and absinthe with a lingering anise-fennel finish. Overall, it did have shades of a Negroni, but the absinthe and mint shifted the balance quite a bit.

Stir without ice and pour into a small snifter glass rinsed with Lagavulin 16 Year Scotch. Garnish with a spritz of Lagavulin. Note: this is a room-temperature cocktail.

After our meal at Sichuan Garden 2, Ran Duan made us a pair of room-temperature after dinner drinks. The one he made for me, the Smoke, Vine, & Seed, was created by Ran's friend Joe Hines, a bartender in Denver when he was at the Green Russell; Joe won the cocktail contest at this past summer's Colorado Wine Cocktail Celebration with this recipe. The drink began with smoke aroma at first, and as that subsided, the bouquet was more grape. The grape in the rich sip continued into the swallow where it paired with the apple and peach notes.

The room-temperature number than he made for Andrea was the Bath Salt that was different than the one of a similar name at Trina's Starlite Lounge. This one began with a hazelnut nose that led into a grape and malt sip. On the swallow, the nut and fig flavors worked rather well with the Bourbon.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Shake with ice and pour into a Highball glass containing 2 oz ginger beer. Twist a lime peel over the top and garnish with Marasca cherries. Add a straw.
(*) While this one was housemade, Tait Farm makes one that is available at The Boston Shaker. And recipes to DiY are on the web.

When our food arrived at Sichuan Garden 2, I asked Ran Duan if he could make me a drink that would go well with the spicy dish I had ordered. To match the food, Ran reached for a housemade cranberry shrub and created an intriguing Buck. For a name, I was going to dub it the Bog Buck, but with a little research, the Henry Hall Highball seemed like a craftier name. Captain Henry Hall of Dennis, MA, is credited with being the first to farm cranberries back in 1816.

The cherry garnish worked well with the lime twist to set up an aroma that matched the tart fruity flavors to follow. The sip was a carbonated lime, and the swallow began with sherry and cranberry notes and ended with ginger and the gin's juniper. Indeed, the shrub's vinegar added a savory element to the drink that complemented the ginger rather well.

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube. Garnish with a few spritzes of allspice dram.

Two Sundays ago, Andrea and I ventured up to Woburn to visit bartender Ran Duan at Sichuan Garden 2 for dinner. For a start, I was drawn towards the Antoine's Demise with the Antoine in question being the New Orleans pharmacist Antoine Amédée Peychaud who created Peychaud's Bitters. Ran described how the drink was part of a progression series from the Gunshop Fizz in Beta Cocktails. The combination of bitters, passion fruit syrup, and citrus reminded me more of Jamie Boudreau's Novara though, except there, the bitters were Campari and not Peychaud's. When Ran started making the drink, I was amused that he had a speed-pour spout on a large bottle containing the Peychaud's Bitters to fill the jigger more quickly.

The dram's allspice and clove spice notes accented the housemade passion fruit syrup aroma. The sip was rather citrussy from the combination of lime and passion fruit, and the swallow had the passion fruit merging elegantly with the Peychaud's Bitters as well as a dry finish. I was quite surprised at how mild the Antoine's Demise was for being such a bitters-heavy drink.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Two Saturdays ago for the cocktail hour, I searched through Ted Saucier's Bottoms Up and spotted the Bronco Buster from from the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix. Despite the book having been published in the 1950s, I was surprised to discover that the resort-hotel is still in existence. The last time the hotel was in the news was when John McCain conceded defeat in the 2008 election on the its lawn. Saucier's book also contains another more famous rye-applejack cocktail, namely the potent Diamondback, which is on both Green Street and Brick & Mortar's menus.

The orange twist on the Bronco Buster added to the fruitier aromas I detected and to the rye whiskey ones Andrea smelled. The lemon-orange sip led into a rye and apple swallow that finished with the lemon's tartness. Both Andrea and I found the recipe a bit on the tart side, so I added a dash of simple syrup and stirred it in; perhaps the Pierre Ferrand's drier-than-average Curaçao caused me to err in my initial recipe balance assumptions.

Shake with ice for 5 seconds and strain into a flute glass. Top with brut prosecco (Gruet Blanc de Blancs) and garnish with a long thin slice of cucumber.

Two Fridays ago, I had picked a cucumber from the garden and remembered that there was a recipe I had eyed in Left Coast Libations that called for one as a garnish. The drink was the Kingsbury created by Eric Alperin from Los Angeles' Varnish. Luckily, I did not skimp on the cucumber slice for it contributed herbal notes to the aroma and taste. In addition to the cucumber on the nose, I got fruit-Campari and Andrea got sparkling wine notes. The sip was a crisp, carbonated wine and lime flavor, and the swallow contrasted Campari's sharper bitterness with Licor 43's sweeter vanilla and other spices. After a few sips, the cucumber elements began to infuse into the drink and added to the flavors in the sip. Overall, the Campari, citrus, and sparkling wine notes reminded me somewhat of Tyler Wang's La Passeggiata.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass containing two ice cubes. Flame an orange twist over the drink and garnish with a fresh one.
(*) Any big, dry, and tannic Syrah wine will do.

For a second drink at Park Restaurant in Harvard Square, I asked bartender Daren Swisher what else he had been tinkering with. Daren suggested a wine cocktail based off of a conversation with writer (and drink creator) Luke O'Neil about the difficulties of being a professional writer. In Luke's blog, he had a quote on this topic from James Thurber that contained the lines, "The notion that such persons [writers] are gay of heart and carefree are curiously untrue. ...The little wheels of their invention are set in motion by the damp hands of melancholy." Daren decided that he needed to craft a drink after that last phrase and set to work.

The Damp Hands of Melancholy began with orange oils and grape aromas. Grape was a common theme here for the sip was a sweet grape, and the swallow had more grape notes finishing with the dryness of wine tannins and the bitters' clove and cinnamon. Indeed, the drink was at first very grape, but after a few sips the balance began to change. Soon, the Amaro Montenegro's tangerine-mandarine and herbal complexity began to blossom as well as the clove from the bitters started to linger. While I attributed this to ice melt, Daren concluded that it was due to the build up of the Syrah's tannins on the tongue.

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Two Thursdays ago, I stopped into Park Restaurant in Harvard Square. The drink on the menu that caught my eye was the Defender. Bartender Daren Swisher explained that it was not a house original but one that appears in the Old Waldorf Bar Days from 1931; he explained the history about the recipe being named after an American sailing ship that defeated in the British in the late 19th century America's Cup races. The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book from 1935 explains, "The name of an American yacht which took care of one of Sir Thomas Lipton's early but seemingly endless 'Shamrocks.'"

The Defender's orange twist complemented the drink's gin and fruity aroma. The vermouth's grape and the Yvette's berry filled the sip, and the swallow began with gin and ended with a bitter floral finish. Overall, the Defender reminded me a lot of the classic Trilby.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

After the Siesta, I turned to Hugo Ensslin's Recipes for Mixed Drinks and spotted the Davis Cocktail. The recipe reminded me a bit of the Quaker Cocktail with a Scofflaw (minus bitters) feel to it. The Davis Cocktail began with the Jamaican rum's funk aroma that was colored on the fruity side by the raspberry and perhaps the lime. The sip was a balance of the rum's caramel notes and the tart lime juice, and the swallow began with the potent rum and ended with raspberry flavors and a dry finish.

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

Two Wednesdays ago, we began the evening with the Siesta from the P.D.T. Cocktail Book. The recipe was created by Katie Stipe in 2006 as she used the classic Hemingway Daiquiri as a starting point. Besides the tequila, Campari, and grapefruit combination seeming tempting, I rather enjoyed the Dutch Flip that Katie created while at Vandaag, so I was definitely willing to try this one.

The grapefruit twist offered up complementary aromas to that of the tequila. On the sip, the grapefruit juice came across more strongly than the lime in perhaps some synergistic interaction with the Campari. Finally, the tequila and Campari flavors rounded out the drink on the swallow. Overall, I was reminded at how well grapefruit and Campari go together such as they have in the Shiver and the Tasmanian Twister.

I have been up for an hour and my coffee has finally cooled enough to drink, so it is time to see what this month's Mixology Monday (MxMo LXV) theme brought in. The concept for "Equal Parts" started as a Mixoloseum Thursday Drink Night where I gained an appreciation of how interesting of a process it can be to develop a drink that fits a structure instead of tinkering with the proportions later. I have also gained an understanding through the literature with 19th century recipes working the equal parts concept just as well as 21st century ones. I figured that it would be a good welcome back theme for it does not require special ingredients or genres outside of one's comfort zone (although being pushed out of one's comfort zone is often where one learns the most). My rough count is 29 participants this month with probably a few more stragglers knocking on the bar door knowing that last call is only symbolic here. Like all Mixology Monday events, we have a handful of first timers; this time, we have also have a strong showing from our French blogger-mixologists! In case, your language skills are not up to snuff, I will provide translation links when needed. So on with the show!

DJ Hawaiian Shirt from the Spirited Remix blog starts things off with the classic Saratoga. DJHS makes the assertion that splitting the spirits in a Manhattan so half is brandy makes for a superior drink. And I have found similar with the Prescription Sazerac.

The lovely folk over at the gardening, cooking, and cocktail blog Putney Farm decided to class up the Long Island Iced Tea with an elegant mixed spirit recipe called the Long Island Planters Punch.

A Drink with Forrest showcases a drink that he entered in a contest at the Manhattan Cocktail Classic in 2010. Using Bernheim Wheat Whiskey, the Frisky Eve equal parted him into victory.

Dan from the amazing Kindred Cocktails drink database is a MxMo first timer; he got crafty and figured out how to adapt an entry in the database into a blog post. Riffing off of the Sam Ross neo-classic the Paper Plane, Dan's Avioncito takes wing.

Looking into my email inbox were a pair of French bloggers, both first timers I believe. Maxime of Cocktail Molotov blog presents a tropical take on the Corpse Reviver using a glorious rum from Plantation. The last paragraph is in English, but here is the whole thing translated.

Paul-Eric of the Sip Easy blog tinkers with the Between the Sheets to conjure up the Above the Sheets by making the citrussy classic into a straights spirits recipe. Don't worry, Paul-Eric wrote his post in both French and English so no translation is needed!

I, Frederic of Cocktail Virgin, found it amusing that even though I had picked the theme, I still had no clue what I was going to make until about a week out. I opted for a complex Fernet Buck called the Eva Péron from Imbibe's The American Cocktail book.

Scott Diaz of Shake, Strain, and Sip looks at the Corpse Reviver and Last Word for inspiration before reaching for bottles of pisco and Swedish Punsch to craft the Undiscovered Country.

Dagreb of Nihil Utopia makes the excelled pre-prandial Perfect Cocktail. He took humorous offense at my event description that garnishes do not count and made his twist into something you might expect to see in Grecian artwork.

It is truly an honor to receive an entry from Mark Sexauer for he was one of the bloggers who participating when I first started reading Mixology Monday in 2006 or 2007 and later started submitting in 2008. Mark pairs agave and grappa in the Recorde's Invention for a smoky, earthy, and vegetal effect.

Ceccotti of Bartending Notes discusses a wide range of equal parts drinks from how to craft a Collins-style drink on the fly to classics like the Between the Sheets.

Brian from the Boo Lion blog based out of Taiwan took the time and effort to investigate one of the more difficult series of equal parters out there -- the Pousse-café! Besides tackling a good number of them, he provides a bit of history and literary lore about this challenging drink style.

Chemistry of the Cocktail's Jordan goes Tiki with the Shrunken Skull. He found his substitution of raspberry syrup for grenadine to be a good one.

JFL, a loyal participant at the Mixoloseum's Thursday Drink Night and a first timer here, of course did Tiki in his post on Rated R Cocktails (don't worry, even with the blog name, they are all work-safe). He realizes that Don's Spices is only one ingredient and crafts the Quemada’s Idol as well as two other drinks.

Southern Ash's Joel joins the MxMo fold by swapping around the Negroni components and using Bourbon and Pimm's in what he calls The Hooligan. Despite the name, it sounds like the exchanges reach a harmony.

François of Bariana rounds out the trio of French blogs by writing about Joaquin Simo's delightful Naked and Famous. While it is partially in English, here is a translated version.

Zach, the Venture Mixologist, makes a grapefruit peel oleo saccharum syrup to sweeten his Atwood, a tribute to Kimball Chase Atwood who in the 19th century developed one of the largest grapefruit groves in the world.

Joseph of Measure & Stir went to the multi-ingredient equal part Zombie and includes a recipe for passion fruit syrup if you decide you want to make your own instead of purchasing it.

The Liquid Culture Project shares their House Bourbon Sour which appears like a delightful whiskey-based Hoop La! They find the addition of the Lillet Blanc's citrus-wine notes to elevate the drink.

Chris of the Steak and Whiskey blog offers the Rahasia which works the rye-vermouth-amaro equal parts angle rather well.

Wordsmithing Pantagruel's Ed riffs on the Last Word with a Smith & Cross and Dry Curaçao number he calls the Swan Song.

Mike of DrinksBurgh describes a good after dinner three parter called the Smokin' Port; despite the name, the only smoky ingredient is a flamed orange twist, so perhaps a cigar is in order?

Andrew from the Doré tumblr is another MxMo first timer! He tinkers with the Negroni and exchanges each ingredient including sweet vermouth for Byrrh for the Byrrhoni.

The Mix Lab starts with the old school equal parts Side Car to concoct the perfect for autumn Calvados Sidecar, and riffs even further with the Irish whiskey-based Every Dog Has It’s Day.

The Muse of Doom from the Feu de Vie blog tinkers with the Between the Sheets and creates the Hello Katie using Tequila por mi Amante. And the Muse continues on with the strawberry-tequila theme with the spicy Hell Kitten.

Fogged in Lounge's Rowen offers up a four equal parter that somewhat reminds me of a Blood and Sand. But the Arithmetic Leisure is very different with its dry rye gin and Campari!

Paul of the Cocktail Chronicles may have stepped down as the MxMo puppetmaster, but not as a monthly participant! Paul is the second blogger to reach for Imbue vermouths, and he makes a tequila Negroni-like number dubbed the Disappearing Act.

I think Brian the Digital Mixologist has a first -- a video submission! In his post, you can watch him mix up the daring Faint of Heart with a healthy slug of bitters.

Finally, BitterB might have started the Bon Vivant in Baltimore blog just for MxMo for it is the only post after their welcome entry, so greetings to the wacky world of cocktail blogging! BitterB took Jackson [Cannon]'s Night Cap as inspiration and mixes up the mezcal-laden Tres Psychos.

So I am done with my second cup of coffee, had lunch and took a phone interview in the middle of this all, and I just double checked that every blog comment and email was accounted for in this write up. Thank you all for participating and for checking out each other's submissions! I believe that we have people to lead the next three MxMo's, but please get in touch with me if you would like to host future ones (the list of past events is on the Mixology Monday website so you know what to pick so that it does not repeat a theme exactly). Cheers!

who? what?

The euphemisms are getting a bit stale, suffice to say: four people in Boston -- two of whom are much more prolific writers than the other two (including the originator of this blog, who has no excuse apart from laziness) -- who drink and tell.

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The 2017 collection of 855 drink recipes, bartender tributes, and essays on hospitality from Frederic Yarm, one of the authors of the Cocktail Virgin Slut blog. Available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

The 2012 collection of 505 drink recipes, techniques, and Boston bar recommendations from Frederic Yarm. Available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.